The
Chevrolet Volt is undeniably the most high profile project going on
at General Motors these days. The vehicle was first
unveiled as a concept
back at the Detroit Auto Show in January of 2007 and since that time
has gone through a long gestation period.

The
production
version of the Volt
is unrecognizable from the original concept that debuted in 2007, but
its mission remains the same: to provide 40 miles of electric-only
propulsion and an additional
300 miles
when the 1.4-liter gasoline engine/generator kicks in.

Today,
GM has announced official pricing for its Chevy Cruze-based vehicle.
The vehicle will be priced at $41,000
($33,500
net of full federal income tax credit). Fully loaded, the vehicle will run you $44,600 before the tax credit. It will also be available for a 36-month lease ($350 per month with
$2,500 due at lease signing).

“The Chevrolet Volt will be the best vehicle in its class… because it’s in a class by itself,” said Joel Ewanick, vice president of U.S. marketing for General Motors. “No other automaker offers an electrically driven vehicle that can be your everyday driver, to take you wherever, whenever. The Volt will be packed with premium content and innovation, standard.”

When it
comes to “mainstream” electric vehicles, the pricing of the Volt
puts it a few pegs above Nissan’s Leaf electric vehicle (EV). The
Nissan Leaf has a base MSRP of $32,780 before the $7,500
federal tax credit
for EVs. Depending on what state customers live in, the final price
of the Leaf can drop down to around $20,000 after local and state tax
incentives.

The
Volt's 1.4-liter engine/generator also inexplicably requires premium
fuel to operate. The gasoline generator is rated at 80 hp while the
electric motor is rated at 74 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. Total rated
system power is 150 hp according to GM. The Volt's battery pack will come with an 8-year/100,000 warranty.

According to Green Car Advisor, the Chevy Volt can accelerate to 60 mph in about nine seconds. Top speed for the vehicle will be 100 mph.

When it comes to charging the vehicle, GM had this to say:

While the Chevrolet Volt will come standard with a 120-volt charge cord that will provide owners with the ability to charge their Volt directly from a standard home electrical outlet, a total of 4,400 Volt buyers in launch markets could be eligible for a free 240-volt charging station, including home installation. The installations are part of a program developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to install approximately 15,000 240-volt home charging stations across the U.S.

Although
customer-ready production models of the first generation Chevy Volt
have yet to hit U.S. streets, GM is already brainstorming about
changes
it will make to the second generation model.
The current Volt uses an off-the-shelf engine that it shares with the
Chevy Cruze. Such a large and complex motor that is merely serving as
a generator is both wasteful and expensive. GM instead wants to look
at other options such as a smaller two-cylinder gasoline engine,
rotary engine, or a small displacement diesel engine.

The
Volt will also get a larger sibling in the form of the Volt
MPV5.
The Volt MPV5 trades the rather restrictive 4-passenger sedan
configuration of the standard model for a crossover configuration
that seats five and offers a more generous cargo area (62 cubic feet
with the rear seats down). Due to the more compromised aerodynamics
and heavier body, the Volt MPV5 can achieve a battery-only range of
32 miles instead of the Volt’s 40 miles.

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